Graveside
by whitem
Summary: Kim is next to a grave, and she has a very strange experience...  Once again, please read with an open mind.  One-shot...


Yes, yes… y'all can be angry at me if you wish since I have other unfinished stories out there, but I'm sure y'all know how it is when an idea strikes.

Disclaimer: The Kim Possible characters used in this story were only borrowed. I do not own them… Although I did create a couple of minor OC's.

Graveside

Kimberly sat on the grass next to the grave. She could feel the wetness of the dew seeping through her jeans, yet she didn't care. The headstone that sat immediately to her right was only a few days old, and the flowers that were sitting in the vase mounted at the bottom of the stone marker still looked fresh.

Tears continued to fall down her cheeks as she mourned her loss for the 2nd day in a row, and she had not moved from the graveside for as long. She just couldn't... leave. It was as if something was holding her there. Something deep inside her that still had a connection with the body that was lying six feet under the grass and dirt that was just in front of her.

As she had done before to relieve a cramp starting to form in her legs, the red head stood up and walked a couple times around the gravesite, and then sat back down in the exact same spot. She then closed her eyes for about 15 minutes, catching a short rest. When she opened them, Kim saw a whisp of a shadow on the grass next to her, stretching across the gravesite.

Turning to see who was there and to tell them she was fine, as she had numerous times already to those who were worried about her, Kimberly saw... no one. She felt nothing, as a person in their right mind should, like the prickly feeling on the back of their neck, or Goosebumps on their arms. In actuality it was almost a... comfortable feeling, if it could be described as such.

With a slightly confused look on her face, Kim turned back to her silent vigil, and breathed out a heavy sigh, forgetting about what she had just seen. Then she heard the distinct sound of a twig snapping, as if someone had stepped on it right behind her. Again she turned her head, and once again saw nothing.

A thought started to form in the back of her mind, yet for some odd reason, she decided to ignore it. It was a memory of the person she was currently mourning. It was something about... then the memory disappeared like mist on a breeze.

After taking a deep shuddering breath, Kim sniffed and wiped at her now reddening nose. She closed her eyes and said her first words since the graveside service had finished.

"That should be me down there Ron... not you." She said, and then Kim felt a small breeze at her back. No... not quite a breeze, but a breath. Warm... inviting... and oh so familiar.

At first her reaction was to smile at the sensation, but then the red head jumped up from her sitting position and whirled around, ready to fight or defend herself, but once again... there was no one to be seen.

She breathed out with a huff. "I must be more tired than I thought. My mind is playing tricks on me." Kim said again to herself.

Shaking her hands to help loosen her fists, she started to pace back and forth. "That was just... weird." Kim said out loud to herself, and then thought, _I've got to stop talking to myself. It's not a good sign. _

Walking over to one side of the 4-foot high marker, Kim placed a hand on the top of the carefully hewn stone. Of course it was the best Kim could buy with the money she had, and she began to lightly trace an intricately carved flower in the surface of the marker. "I miss you so much Ronnie... it hurts." She sniffed back some more tears, closed her eyes, and continued. "I'm just not ready to let go."

As if on a breeze lighter than the beating of a Hummingbird's wings, Kim heard Ron's voice speak 3 words directly into left ear. _But you must..._

Her eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply. "Ron? Is... is that really... you?" There was no immediate answer.

"**Please** Ron..." She pleaded. "I would give anything to just talk with you just one more time." Again she was greeted with silence.

Just as Kim opened her mouth to say something else, that gentle breeze of a voice returned to her left ear. _I will do as I always have... And that which I always will... Which is Love you. _

"Oh Ron…" Kim said with a twist of her head. "You're just making this that much harder, you know?" She harshly wiped away a few more tears and sniffed.

"You say that I need to let you go, yet you still say these things to me…" Placing her hands on the grave marker for support, Kim closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an effort to get control of her emotions. It only helped a little.

Then she saw a shadow pass over her, and Kim looked up. This time someone was actually standing in front of her, but it was someone that she did not expect. This person wore a long black robe with a large hood that covered their face. Bone-white fingers extended from the oversized sleeves and one hand held onto a 6-foot long scythe. It was Death.

While standing straight up at the sight, Kim took in a gasp of air, and then said "Have you finally come for me?"

"No. It is not yet your time." A low gravelly voice said. "I was sent to you for another reason"

"S… sent to m… me? By who?" There was only one person Kim could think of that would do such a thing, yet that green skinned woman wasn't dead. Or at least she didn't think so.

"One Ronald… Dean… Stoppable." Was the slow reply.

"I… I don't understand." The red head stammered.

"Let's just say that certain… Heroes… have a certain amount of sway in the Afterlife. And when one asks you to do something… you do it." Death switched the scythe from one hand to the other. "He wanted me to tell you that even though he is gone, his love will always be there for you, and that this was the reason you needed to go on with your life."

Tears once again fell down her cheeks, yet Kim didn't wipe them away. She just sniffed, stood a little straighter, and said "I understand now."

After dropping her head to rub at her tired eyes, Kim looked back up to see not Death standing in front of her, but nothing. Then once again a voice came to her ears, but this one was completely different, and coming from behind her.

"Great Grammy… are you ok?" It was the caring voice of her 10 year old Great-Great Grandson Michael Dean Stoppable.

After he had spoken, Kim then heard and saw Michael's dad Joseph Ronald Stoppable. "Grammy Kim," He said with a huff, "I hope Michael didn't disturb you, but he insisted on coming to get you. But if you're still not ready to go back home, I'll understand."

"That's… that's quite alright Joseph." She said with a smile. "It's time for me to go anyway. I've finally said my good-byes." Kim then took the proffered arm of Joseph and let him lead her back to his car.

Before she entered the vehicle, Kim took one last look at her husband of 75 years' final resting-place. For an instant she thought she saw a misty form in the shape of her husband, and that it was waving to her. She raised a hand in a simple wave in return, and whispered to herself, "Yes Ron, I understand. I will carry your love with me until Death comes for me again."

While Joseph drove out of the cemetery, Kim turned to the younger of the two Stoppables in the car. "Joseph? Did I ever tell you about this one adventure that your Great-Great Grandfather and I went on, in which we went to…"

For the rest of the ride home, Kimberly Anne Stoppable, wife of Ronald Dean Stoppable for 75 years, spoke with a sparkle in her green eyes for the first time in days.

The End…

* * *

Well Folks… I hope this wasn't too much of a downer, but when the bunny bites, ya gotta take care of it.


End file.
